France has been vocally calling for a ceasefire in Gaza while maintaining that Israel has the “right to self-defence.”
French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for a “lasting ceasefire” in Gaza during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, France 24 reported, citing a French Presidency statement.
“France will work in the coming days in cooperation with Jordan to carry out humanitarian operations in Gaza,” Macron added.
The French president voiced his “deepest concern” about the civilian deaths and the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave. He also called for an end to the violence committed against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers.
A readout from Netanyahu’s office said the call with Macron dealt with “the war to destroy Hamas in Gaza, as well as the efforts to bring about the release of the hostages, and asked him to continue working for their release.”
The call also touched on France’s “willingness to help restore security along Israel’s border with Lebanon,” where cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have increased since October 7.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear that the people and Government of Israel are determined to work in every way to return the residents of the north and south to their homes,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The discussions between Macron and Netanyahu came as the brutal onslaught of Gaza nears three months without a permanent ceasefire. Israel has killed 21,110 Palestinians in Gaza and injured 55,243 others under its ongoing genocidal war.
On December 21, Jordan’s King Abdullah II met French President Emmanuel Macron in Aqaba in a scramble for a ceasefire in Gaza. Macron also visited Qatar on December 2 where he met Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
France has been vocally calling for a ceasefire in Gaza while maintaining that Israel has the “right to self-defence.”
Israel has been citing the Hamas operation of October 7, known as “Operation Al Aqsa Flood,” as the pretext for its war.
The operation saw the Al-Qassam Brigades – Hamas’ armed wing – infiltrate the occupied territories through air, land and sea while returning to Gaza with at least 240 captives.
Al-Qassam said at the time that the operation was in response to the increased raids of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and settler violence towards Palestinian living under 75 years of occupation.
Speaking to France 5 broadcaster on December 20, Macron stressed that Israel’s goal of fighting terrorism does not mean it has to “flatten Gaza.”
“We cannot let the idea take root that an efficient fight against terrorism implies to flatten Gaza or attack civilian populations indiscriminately,” Macron said at the time.
Meanwhile, pro-Palestine rallies across France have been subjected to crackdowns since the government upheld a ban on pro-Palestine protests on October 28.
France had cited “the serious risk of disturbing public order” in light of “heightened tensions linked to the events in the Gaza Strip with a rise in anti-Semitic acts in France”.
Protesters defied the ban at the time and French police arrested 21 people and issued more than 1,350 fines on the same day, according to an AFP report.
The crackdown on pro-Palestine protests across Europe since the start of the war on Gaza has been a matter of concern by activists and rights organisations including Amnesty International.
